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“Together, we have found smarter ways of working to create extraordinary experiences both inflight and at airport locations.“ |
Benny Klepach Chairman & CEO DFASS |
INTERNATIONAL. Leading inflight concessionaire DFASS has hailed its partnership with Diageo after a series of joint initiatives delivered strong sales in 2011. The companies have operated a strategic partnership for the past three years. DFASS is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2012.
Benny Klepach, Chairman and CEO of DFASS, said: “Our partnership was launched on the solid platform of the remarkable quality of the Diageo portfolio and the reach and expertise of DFASS. Together, we have found smarter ways of working to create extraordinary experiences both inflight and at airport locations. This demonstrates our shared ability to create fantastic stand-out experiences for the traveller, that in turn drive additional sales and develop a remarkable momentum for the sector. I’m certain we can take this to even greater heights in 2012.”
Highlights from 2011 include the listing of Johnnie Walker Double Black on all four Singapore-based airline partners of DFASS, namely Singapore Airlines, Jet Star, Tiger Airways and Silk Star. With powerful brand visibility on the front cover of KrisShop, the Singapore Airlines inflight magazine, and crew training on the brand heritage story, plus visibility in the SilverKris Business Lounge, Johnnie Walker Double Black sales almost doubled versus the previous year with incremental sales on other Johnnie Walker variants. Another inflight innovation was the launch of Godiva Vodka with DFASS operations on Air Canada, retailed through pre-order and in-store.
On the ground the partners opened the Johnnie Walker Blue Label Collection by Porsche Design Studio. Shoppers at Dallas Fort Worth Airport [where DFASS has a duty free concession -Ed] could engage with the brand on the concourse and personalise their purchases with a free engraving. This was highly popular during the holiday period in December, said DFASS and Diageo.
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Johnnie Walker Double Black was a big focus of the partnership at DFASS airport stores |
Johnnie Walker Double Black also featured at several DFASS airport stores in the Americas – Fort Lauderdale, Chicago O’Hare, Dallas and Montego Bay – with highly visible HPPs and in-store sampling. On the concourse, activity included billboards, large screens and brand ambassadors engaging directly with passengers. Running for three months, “˜Experience The Flavour’ enabled shoppers to sample the brand with resultant sales up +180%.
In white spirits there was joint activation in Terminal D at Dallas Fort Worth over a two-month period around SuperBowl 2011 featuring Tequila Don Julio. Passengers were invited to participate in several different educational and theatre activities that told the story of the brand’s heritage and demonstrated how to create Don Julio cocktails.
The partners noted: “Reinforcing the commitment to Trinity shared by DFASS and Diageo, this went a step further, involving the airport authority and four restaurant and bar operators in the terminal. This approach created a holistic consumer experience as brand ambassadors helped encourage shoppers from the concourse to the bars to sample the cocktails with their food and to the Buckaroo Duty Free store where they could sample in-store and buy the liquid and take home to create their own cocktails.”
Diageo GTME Regional Director, Americas Gregorio Gutierrez said: “We’re really proud of our relationship with DFASS and these results clearly demonstrate how working together, with shared goals, we’ve created excellent shopper interaction across a global multi-channel business. In doing so we’ve maximized the performance of DFASS’s stunning retail skills and service delivery to optimize our brands, helping grow each other’s potential.”
DFASS started this year by winning awards for Best In-flight Concessionaire at the ARC 2012 event in Singapore in February. Its partner airline Singapore Airlines achieved a double win with Best Airline for In-flight Retail and Best Airline for In-flight Food & Beverage.
